Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Eles estão a ouvir um poema novo.

In European Portuguese, we form the present continuous (actions happening right now) using the verb estar (to be) + a + the infinitive of the main verb. Here, we use estão because the subject is Eles (they), followed by a, and the infinitive verb ouvir (to listen).

Why does it say um poema novo? Doesn't the ending "-a" in poema make it feminine?

Usually, words ending in "-a" are feminine. However, poema is an exception. Many words ending in "-ma" that come from Greek are actually masculine. Therefore, it must be used with the masculine article um (a) and the masculine adjective novo (new). Other common masculine words like this include o problema and o sistema.

Can ouvir mean both "to hear" and "to listen"?

Yes! While English has separate words for "hearing" (a sound coming to your ears) and "listening" (paying attention to a sound), Portuguese often uses ouvir for both. Another verb, escutar, also means "to listen" and implies paying closer attention, but ouvir is perfectly natural and very common for listening to things like music or poems.

Why is the word order poema novo instead of novo poema?